quartz update 5.1: the actions update 1

added a ton of cool actions, heres the full list:

• NEW filesystem: create directory
• NEW filesystem: create file
• NEW filesystem: delete directory
• NEW filesystem: delete file
• NEW filesystem: get file properties
• NEW filesystem: read file
• NEW filesystem: write file
• NEW filesystem: rename or move file or directory
• NEW system: power - lock, logout, suspend, hibernate, shutdown, reboot
• NEW system: send notification
• NEW misc: send web request

other changes:

• fixed some overflow issues in the UI

ok bye new update coming soon

quartz update #5: the apps update

smaller update this time

changes

• added some config file support (located in USER/.config/quartz)
• added tooltips (?) to certain action inputs
• added the app selector, as seen in the screenshot below!
• action updates:
  • NEW open app: opens an app using the selector
  • NEW open link: opens a link, as a website, file, etc.
  • NEW kill process: kills a process via app selector, name, or pid with the option to terminate instead
  • WIP emulate mouse: stub (not implemented)
• trigger updates:
  • app open: change to use app selector
  • app close: change to use app selector
• lots of bugfixes, both on backend and UI
• fixed a lot of overflow issues on UI on smaller screens

todo

• add the remaining trigger types
• add some more actions
• figure out how to build and package the app (really need this to ship)

notes

• yes i am aware that deltarune is in my apps list, and yes i have played chapter five

quartz update #4

changes:

• optimize polling trigger listeners by limiting one polling agent per trigger type
• add more triggerss
  • directory watch (file create/delete/rename)
  • directory contents watch (file content changes)
  • app open
  • app close
  • schedule (cron)
• fixed file watch trigger
• updated ui pubsec.yaml name to “quartz” instead of “ui”
• added bracket/quote formatting to text fields
• added trigger output usage in ui like action outputs
• allow viewing run logs from settings page

quartz update #3

changes:

• added some basic automatic shortcut triggers
  • startup, file watch, clipboard watch
  • will add more later
• fixed some issues and improved message box/dialog box (using ai)
• removed collapsible sidebar on editor page
• polishing/consistency changes including adding a mono font for text fields
• allow changing shortcut properties through inspector (see image)
• split editor page file into several modules (previously 1400+ lines long…)

to-do:

• add more triggers and actions
• figure out how to detect hotkeys on linux (may not be possible on wayland)
• fix windows functionality
• figure out how to build/package app
• more stuff that i forgot about

update 2: made a cool thing where variables and outputs in a text field are highlighted (see right of image)

update: added drag and drop, added flow control, removed client side decorations on linux, and more

devlog #1 of quartz, a desktop automation app similar to shortcuts on ios/mac but for linux (and maybe windows in the future).
the main idea is that you create shortcuts that contain multiple “steps”, which can do many things, including: setting a variable, showing a pop-up, running a command, and more. the main reason i decided to work on this is because making shell scripts and managing them are kind of annoying, so creating a nice interface to easily manage scripts (or shortcuts) would be very helpful.

as for technical details, the backend (saving and running) uses a background python process, while the ui uses flutter and material design.

current features done:

• basic backend (saving and running shortcuts),
• some ui (creating, editing shortcuts/steps).

todo:

• add UI for control flow (if/else),
• add shortcut triggers (to automatically run shortcuts),
• add a lot more actions, improve the UI, (maybe) app integrations.

the reason this took over 10hr is mostly because of the ui, since i am not the most familiar with flutter and there are a lot of moving parts.